How do I choose BISAC categories for my book?
- BISAC codes are the industry-standard subject categories for books.
- Retailers and the trade use them to classify and shelve titles.
- Specific subcategories place a book better than broad ones.
- Most platforms let you assign multiple BISAC codes.
- They differ from, but interact with, retailer browse categories.
Choose BISAC categories by finding the codes that most precisely describe your book — drilling into specific subcategories (for example, a particular subgenre) rather than stopping at a broad heading, since specificity improves classification and discoverability. Assign multiple codes where allowed to capture genre and subject accurately. Browse the official BISAC subject list, match your book honestly, and remember these codes feed into how the trade and retailers categorize and surface your title.
Chapter i·Why it matters
BISAC codes determine how your book is classified throughout the supply chain — bookstores, libraries, and retailers use them to shelve and surface titles — so wrong or overly broad codes hurt discoverability and placement. Choosing precise, accurate subcategories puts your book where its readers and the trade expect to find it. Understanding BISAC and selecting deliberately is a small operational step with real impact on how findable a book is across the industry.
Chapter ii·What to include
- The official BISAC subject list.
- Codes that precisely match your book.
- Specific subcategories over broad headings.
- Multiple codes where the platform allows.
- An honest match to genre and subject.
- Awareness of how codes feed classification.
Chapter iii·Example
An author publishing a historical mystery skips the broad "Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General" and chooses the precise "Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Historical" plus a second relevant code. The specific BISAC categories place her book accurately for the trade and improve where it surfaces, compared with a vague general code.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom keeps your BISAC codes and metadata beside your listing, so your book is classified accurately across the trade.
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